Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-11

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many countries, people do not recycle their rubbish as much as they could.

Why do you think this is?

What can be done to change this?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

In this contemporary era, sustainable waste management is quintessential to ensure the safety of the environment. This goal can only be achieved by ensuring active participation of the public. However, it is suggested that in some nations, certain residents are not recycling all the possible waste as they are expected. In this essay, we will discuss the possible causes and also suggest some solutions to resolve this dilemma.

The primary reason for this negligence is that most of the residents are unaware of the consequences of poor waste management on the environment. They might lack the information that the normal waste materials like plastic bottles, newspaper and carbonated water cans take thousands of years to degrade and cause soil and water pollution. This in turn, cause harmful impact on their health and ecosystem. Moreover, most of the individuals do not have the required knowledge to identify the waste that can be recycled. For instance, in third world nations, majority of population is illiterate and they do not have information that all the garbage materials needs to be sorted separately and disposed off safely.

To resolve this problem, the regime can play vital role. The government should promote the idea of recycling using social campaigns, advertisements and educational programs. Apart from this, the government can impose penalties like heavy fines and imprisonment laws to ensure that all the residents abide by the law and separate their recycled waste from other garbage.

In conclusion, although the rate of recycling is not as high as expected in many nations due to negligence and limited knowledge, it can be increased if the government ensures social awareness using either campaigns or by imposing fines.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for low recycling rates and potential solutions. The ideas are relevant, such as the lack of public awareness and the role of government intervention. However, the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the mention of 'third world nations' and 'illiteracy' is a broad generalization that could have been supported with more nuanced analysis. While the position is clear throughout, the essay would benefit from more specific examples or a deeper exploration of the psychological or infrastructural barriers to recycling to reach a higher band. Overall, the response is well-structured and covers all requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion', which help to link ideas together. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing could be more sophisticated. For example, the link between the lack of knowledge and the specific solutions proposed is clear, but the flow between sentences could be smoother to avoid a repetitive structure. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and contributes to the clarity of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally appropriate and sufficient for the task. You use some good collocations like 'sustainable waste management', 'active participation', and 'harmful impact'. There are some minor inaccuracies, such as 'regime' to refer to the government, which carries a slightly negative connotation in this context, and 'disposed off', which should be 'disposed of'. While you attempt to use more advanced vocabulary, the range is somewhat limited, and there is a reliance on fairly standard phrasing. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary and ensure that collocations are used in the correct context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. You show control over basic grammar, and your meaning is consistently clear. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'all the garbage materials needs to be sorted' (subject-verb agreement) and 'this in turn, cause harmful impact' (should be 'causes'). Additionally, the use of articles is occasionally inconsistent. While you use some complex structures, they are not always error-free. To reach a higher band, focus on increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences and refining your control over subject-verb agreement and article usage.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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